Missoni's Venezuela pilot, airline not licenced -Italy probe

ROME

The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft YV-2615, which was reported missing on January 4, 2013, is pictured in this undated handout photo.

Reuters/Nacional Institute of Civil Aviation/Handout

ROME (Reuters) - The airline and the pilot of a plane that went missing in Venezuela on January 4 with Italian fashion executive Vittorio Missoni, his wife and four others on board were not licenced to fly, Italian investigators said on Tuesday.

Italy's agency for flight security, ANSV, said its investigation had found that the airline that owned the plane was not fully licenced to operate and that the pilot's licence had expired on November 30, more than a month before the flight.

The plane carrying Missoni, 58, his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, another couple, a Venezuelan crew member, and the pilot - who was in his early 70s - disappeared after taking off from the resort of Los Roques, an archipelago off the coast.

Italy has sent rescue personnel to help in the search for the plane.

Missoni is the oldest child of the founders of the fashion house famous for its exuberantly coloured knits, featuring bold stripes and zigzags. He is co-owner with siblings Luca and Angela, who handle the technical and design sides of the firm.